Sandro Tonali charged with gambling breaches: did he bet on Premier League games?

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has received further misconduct charges from the Football Association (FA) in relation to allegations that he bet on games after joining the club last summer.

The Italian is already serving a 10-month ban for breaking gambling rules in Italy, a suspension which has also ruled him out for his club side for much of this season. Today’s bombshell raises the possibility that Tonali also breached UK betting rules while playing for Newcastle.

“Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA Betting Rules,” a club statement confirmed. “Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club’s full support.”

The FA has not specified which games they believe bets were placed on, but says that the matches in question took place between 12 August and 12 October 2023. He has until 5 April to respond to the charges.

What has Sandro Tonali been found guilty of?

The Italian midfielder was heralded as a transformational signing when he joined Newcastle United from boyhood club AC Milan last summer. He cost a reported €70 million, becoming the most expensive Italian player of all time and impressing greatly in his first months at the club.

But after playing just 12 games for Newcastle he hit with a series of gambling charges from authorities in Italy. Tonali cooperated with the investigation and revealed that he had placed bets on a number of matches, including some in which he played for AC Milan.

After pleading guilty he was fined €20,000 and required to take part in an ten-month programme aimed to help “recovery from gambling addiction.”

In addition to that suspension he will spend a further eight months following a rehabilitation period. Tonali has agreed to make at least 16 trips to Italy to give talks to professional players about the dangers of betting. If he fails to make those trips he will likely be subject to further punishment.

News of the additional FA charge appears unlikely to affect his agreement with Italian prosecutors. The new charges relate to a period after signing for Newcastle, meaning that he can face no further punishment in Italy. However it remains to be seen what the FA will opt to do if he is found guilty of a further breach of soccer’s gambling regulations.